Weber Shandwick, in partnership with KRC Research, released CEO Activism in 2018: The Purposeful CEO. This survey is the third installment of Weber Shandwick’s CEO activism series, following The Dawn of CEO Activism (2016) and High Noon in the C-Suite (2017). This year’s report finds that nearly eight in 10 consumers (77 percent) agree that CEOs need to speak out when their company’s values are violated or threatened.

2. Increasingly, CEOs are speaking out publicly and taking stands on controversial issues. CEOs now have a track record of
speaking up about social, political and environmental issues, such as climate change, gender pay equity, same-sex
marriage, immigration, gun control and discrimination.
CEO Activism in 2018: The Purposeful CEO is the third annual nationwide poll conducted by Weber Shandwick in
partnership with KRC Research about CEO activism, an evolving dynamic in which some chief executive officers have
spoken out publicly on controversial issues, and some going so far as to wade into political waters. We surveyed
Americans to provide companies with insights into how the public expects business leaders to respond to hot-button issues
of the day and how it impacts their purchasing behavior.
2

3. “Over the past 12 months, it has become more common for
leaders of companies to speak out on policy issues, and the
American public is paying attention to this new brand of CEO
activism. Americans are beginning to believe that such actions
can influence government policy. While most CEOs are not
accustomed to participating in the political arena, they and their
companies need to be prepared to navigate these uncharted
waters, whether they remain silent or not.
Andy Polansky, CEO
Weber Shandwick
3

4. 4
Weber Shandwick partnered with KRC Research in May 2018
to conduct an online survey of 1,006 U.S. adults 18 years of
age and older, representing the general population of
America. It is the third annual wave of our CEO Activism
research.
The survey describes CEO activism to respondents as
follows: “In the past year or so, some chief executive officers
(CEOs, or top leaders of companies) have spoken out publicly
and taken a stand on controversial issues. For example,
CEOs have spoken up about social, political and
environmental issues such as climate change, gender pay
equity, same-sex marriage, immigration, gun control and
discrimination.”

5. 5

6. 6

7. 2016
2017
2018
Not Sure No Yes
42% of Americans are aware of CEO activism, a significantly higher level of awareness than past years.
7
Significantly
higher than
2017

8. 8
2016
2017
2018
Don't know Does not a difference Less favorable More favorable
38% of Americans have a favorable opinion on CEO activism, a rate which is significantly higher than in 2017 (31%).
While fewer (25%) say they have a less favorable opinion, the largest proportion (37%) don’t take a firm position,
saying either it doesn’t matter to them (25%) or they don’t know (12%).
Significantly
higher than
2017

9. 2017
2018
Don't know It depends No influence Minor influence Major influence
Approximately half of Americans (48%) think CEO activism has an influence on the government, considerably larger
than one year ago (38%). Only 18% say it has no influence.
9
Significantly
higher than
2017

10. Independents
Republicans
Democrats
Don't know It depends No influence Minor influence Major influence
Democrats and Republicans similarly see CEO activism as legislatively influential (54% and 51%, respectively)
while approximately the same proportion of Independents (56%) say either that it depends or they don’t know.
10

11. Those who are aware of CEOs speaking up are significantly more likely than those not aware to believe that CEO
activism influences the decisions and actions of the government (58% vs 46%, respectively).
Aware of CEO
Activism
Not Aware of CEO
Activism
Don't know It depends No influence Minor influence Major influence
11
Significantly
higher than Not
Aware

12. 46% of consumers think there will be an increase in the number of CEO activists in the next few years,
compared to just 13% who expect there will be fewer.
12

13. 13

14. 2016
2017
2018
Not Sure No Yes
14
39% of Americans believe that CEOs have a responsibility to speak up on important social issues of the day.
Roughly the same percentage – 42% – disagree.

15. 15
Total Democrats Republicans Independents
Significantly higher than comparative
sub-groups
Democrats are significantly more likely than Republicans and Independents to say companies should take positions.
Republicans are significantly more likely to say they should stick to business.
Take positions on social issues that
they consider important to their
workforce and to society, even if they
are not directly related to their business
Stick to conducting their business and
not take positions on social issues

16. Any Risk 89%
Criticism from customers 60%
Criticism in social media 59%
Company could be hurt financially 57%
Criticism from employees 51%
Boycotts 51%
Criticism from traditional media 50%
Employees quitting 39%
Potential job candidates not applying 38%
Criticism from the government 27%
Instigation of a march or rally 24%
There are no risks 1%
Don’t know 10%
NOT
Any Risk 61%
Criticism in social media 35%
Criticism from customers 30%
Criticism from employees 29%
Criticism from traditional media 28%
Company could be hurt financially 22%
Boycotts 20%
Employees quitting 17%
Potential job candidates not applying 16%
Criticism from the government 12%
Instigation of a march or rally 12%
There are no risks 22%
Don’t know 17%
16

17. 17

18. 14%
26%
33%
35%
36%
38%
38%
39%
45%
48%
54%
59%
69%
70%
71%
77%
79%
80%
Abortion
Legalization of marijuana
Nationalism
Gun control
LGBT rights
Immigration/Refugees
Artificial intelligence (AI)
Climate change
Globalization
Race relations
Free speech rights
Gender equality
Maternity/patnernity leave
Healthcare coverage
Privacy/personal data protection
Sexual harassment
Equal pay in the workplace
Job/skills training
The issues Americans are least likely to think CEOs should express an opinion on are the legalization of
marijuana and abortion.
18

19. HispanicsWhitesBlacks/African
Americans
MenWomenTotal Americans
Women are significantly more likely than men to believe that CEOs need to defend company values.
Significantly higher than men
19

20. 20

21. Any action (net) 66% 64%
Changed purchasing behavior (net) 37% 42%
Decided not to buy from or boycotted the company 28% 35%
Decided to buy more from the company 18% 18%
Talked about the CEO’s stance with your friends and family 25% 24%
Talked about the CEO’s stance with your co-workers 13% 15%
Posted positively about the CEO or company on social media 9% 14%
Posted negatively about the CEO or company on social media 12% 14%
Signed a petition addressed to the CEO or company 13% 12%
Contacted the company to share your opinion 9% 8%
Made a decision to buy that company's stock 8% 7%
Looked into selling that company’s stock n/a 5%
Joined a march or rally against the CEO or company n/a 5%
None of the above 34% 36%
42% of consumers aware of CEO activism have taken action through purchasing behavior, usually boycotting (35%).
21

22. 2016
2017
2018
Don't know Would not make a difference Decreases loyalty to organization Increases loyalty to organization
31% of employed Americans say they would be more loyal to their organization if their CEO took a public
position on a hotly debated issue and nearly the same percentage (29%) say it would not matter to them.
Fewer (23%) would be less loyal.
22

23. 2016
2017
2018
Don't know Would not make a difference Less likely More likely
46% of Americans are more likely to buy from a company when the CEO speaks out a hotly debated issue they
agree with, a rate that is significantly higher than in 2017 (38%).
Indicates
significant
difference
from 2017
23

24. 24

25. 25

26. For more information about CEO Activism in 2018:
The Purposeful CEO, please contact:
26
Micho Spring
Global Corporate Practice Chair
Weber Shandwick
mspring@webershandwick.com
Leslie Gaines-Ross
Chief Reputation Strategist
Weber Shandwick
lgaines-ross@webershandwick.com
Paul Massey
President, Powell Tate
Global Lead, Social Impact, Weber Shandwick
pmassey@powelltate.com